TY - JOUR
T1 - The pungency of garlic
T2 - Activation of TRPA1 and TRPV1 in response to allicin
AU - Macpherson, Lindsey J.
AU - Geierstanger, Bernhard H.
AU - Viswanath, Veena
AU - Bandell, Michael
AU - Eid, Samer R.
AU - Hwang, Sun Wook
AU - Patapoutian, Ardem
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Taryn Earley and Andrea Peier for assistance. The authors are supported by grants from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NS046303, NS42822, and NS04910). S.R.E. is supported by a fellowship from the Swiss Foundation for Medical-Biological Stipends. A.P. is a Damon Runyon Scholar.
PY - 2005/5/24
Y1 - 2005/5/24
N2 - Garlic's pungent flavor has made it a popular ingredient in cuisines around the world and throughout history. Garlic's health benefits have been elevated from folklore to clinical study [1-5]. Although there is some controversy as to the efficacy of garlic, garlic products are one of the most popular herbal supplements in the U.S. [6]. Chemically complex, garlic contains different assortments of sulfur compounds depending on whether the cloves are intact, crushed, cooked, or raw [7]. Raw garlic, when cut and placed on the tongue or lips, elicits painful burning and prickling sensations through unknown mechanisms. Here, we show that raw but not baked garlic activates TRPA1 and TRPV1, two temperature-activated ion channels that belong to the transient receptor potential (TRP) family [8-12]. These thermoTRPs are present in the pain-sensing neurons that innervate the mouth. We further show that allicin, an unstable component of fresh garlic, is the chemical responsible for TRPA1 and TRPV1 activation and is therefore likely to cause garlic's pungency.
AB - Garlic's pungent flavor has made it a popular ingredient in cuisines around the world and throughout history. Garlic's health benefits have been elevated from folklore to clinical study [1-5]. Although there is some controversy as to the efficacy of garlic, garlic products are one of the most popular herbal supplements in the U.S. [6]. Chemically complex, garlic contains different assortments of sulfur compounds depending on whether the cloves are intact, crushed, cooked, or raw [7]. Raw garlic, when cut and placed on the tongue or lips, elicits painful burning and prickling sensations through unknown mechanisms. Here, we show that raw but not baked garlic activates TRPA1 and TRPV1, two temperature-activated ion channels that belong to the transient receptor potential (TRP) family [8-12]. These thermoTRPs are present in the pain-sensing neurons that innervate the mouth. We further show that allicin, an unstable component of fresh garlic, is the chemical responsible for TRPA1 and TRPV1 activation and is therefore likely to cause garlic's pungency.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=20144371097&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.cub.2005.04.018
DO - 10.1016/j.cub.2005.04.018
M3 - Article
C2 - 15916949
AN - SCOPUS:20144371097
SN - 0960-9822
VL - 15
SP - 929
EP - 934
JO - Current Biology
JF - Current Biology
IS - 10
ER -